The present invention relates to an integrated suction hood featuring depollution of air from fumes, dust, toxic gases, viruses, bacteria, and the like.
It is known that living spaces are affected by various forms of pollution, such as industrial emissions, emissions produced by traffic and by heating systems, fumes, and the like.
In particular, the kitchen is one of the most polluted rooms of an apartment, since it is affected by the diffusion not only of the noxious factors originating from outside but also of those produced by food cooking and gas combustion. For example, the evaporation of water, which is rich in chlorine and other highly volatile noxious components, considerably contributes to pollution of the environment.
Venting hoods, which are fitted with a fan and connected to an external discharge duct, or recirculation hoods, which comprise an activated-charcoal filter, are commonly used to eliminate odors and noxious factors produced by cooking. These conventional hoods, however, are unable to eliminate all the pollutants that are present in the environment and can, on the contrary, lead to the development of bacterial colonies.
On the other hand, the filters that are currently available for purifying air from pollutants operate according to various physical principles (for example mechanical, chemical, or electrostatic principles) and are unable to eliminate pathogenic germs from the air and to block smaller particles, for example those measuring less than one tenth or one hundredth of a micron.
It is also known that in addition to air purity, an important factor for physical well-being is constituted by the presence, in the air itself, of negative ions, which are produced by solar radiation, by moving water masses, and by trees. Air ionization, however, is very limited in closed spaces, both due to pollution and due to appliances such as air-conditioning units and the like.